Meet MacKenzie Kampa

Professional Background

I started my nursing career as an RN in the Emergency Department at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, WA. I loved working in the ER, but over time noticed that we kept seeing more and more patients coming in for mental health emergencies. I wanted to do something more to help fix what I saw as a crisis of mental health services in our community, and applied to graduate school to train as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner as my way to “do more”.

My professional experience as a Nurse Practitioner started out working for the Air Force in Anchorage, AK. I eventually transitioned out of the Active Duty military and into an outpatient role at M Health Fairview in Minneapolis. A few years later I opened Reverie Mental Health, where I am able to offer specialty psychiatric care to women - a population I care very deeply about.

Personal Background

My interest in mental health starts with my own story back in college when two separate but concurrent experiences impacted me. I went to therapy for the first time and learned how to connect my thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. While it seems basic now, it truly changed my life then. Around the same time I read a book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility, which gave me a new sense of control and independence regarding my body and my cycle - I realized I didn't have to take birth control to manage hormone fluctuations, mood, or menstrual-related symptoms (though some people really benefit from this!).

Fast forward many years later to the birth and postpartum period of my first child. Nothing went how I anticipated and I was left feeling intense grief and confusion, and developed new anxious, intrusive thoughts for a few months - I was experiencing postpartum OCD. I thought this was normal and was ashamed to talk about it since I had a new baby that I thought I needed to be enamored with.

I wish I had felt safe enough to ask for help during that time in my life, but instead I suffered silently until hindsight showed me that what I experienced was not normal (though it was/is common).

My primary goals with Reverie Mental Health are to first provide a safe space where you feel seen and heard, then to help you feel like yourself again. You deserve it.